It’s getting better at least.
The College Football Playoff is far from perfect (just ask TCU or Baylor) but it’s better than its predecessor, the BCS. As where the BCS selection system tried to identify the top two teams in the nation to play for the National Championship, the College Football Playoff selects the top four teams after the regular season and conference championship games to face off in a mini tournament for the National Championship.
Those four teams this year are Alabama, Oregon, Florida State, and Ohio State; three 12-1 teams and one 13-0, the defending champion Seminoles. As alluded to above, the consensus snubs are TCU and Baylor, both from the Big 12. Their chances were hurt by equal parts no conference championship game and weaker TV ratings than Ohio State.
But whether it’s fair or not, the CFP selection committee has left fans with two incredible semi-final matchups for New Year’s Day.
In the Sugar Bowl, two of the best coaches in college football and former big shot SEC foes in Nick Saban and Urban Meyer go head-to-head when top-ranked Alabama takes on No. 4 Ohio State. And in the Rose Bowl Game this year’s Heisman winner QB Marcus Mariota and No. 2 Oregon takes on last year’s Heisman winner QB Jameis Winston and No. 3 Florida State.
So basically if you’re not a TCU or Baylor alumnus, you should be excited for these matchups.
Bowl season is also the unofficial kickoff to mock draft mania. As many as seven potential first-rounders and 10 potential second-rounders will suit up in one of the semi-final bowl games on January 1.
The list is headlined of course by Heisman winner Mariota, who is the early consensus top prospect for the draft. But other names to keep an eye on include Winston, likely the second quarterback off the board come late April, and WR Amari Cooper and S Landon Collins from Alabama, each potential Top 10 picks.
This is still college football of course so there are still a million bowls from December 20 to January 12, and TSN has you covered with 25 on our air. Along with the two semi-final previews, TSN.ca takes a closer look at each team in the College Football Playoff and previews six of the best non-CFP bowls.
Once the dust settles in early January, let’s hope fans are in at least a little more agreement on the best team in college football. Until then, let’s have fun watching it all play out.